Nineteenth Century Natural History Art and Belonging in Tasmania
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Nineteenth century natural history art and belonging in Tasmania Volume One by Anita Hansen Master of Fine Art–University of Tasmania Graduate Diploma of Art–University of Newcastle Bachelor of Fine Art–University of Tasmania Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania April 2013 i Signed statement of originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, it incorporates no material previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text. Anita Hansen ii Signed statement of authority of access to copying This thesis may be available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Anita Hansen iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to advance knowledge of the significance of nineteenth century natural history art in the ‘sense of belonging’, the ‘sense of place’, in Tasmania. Roslynn Haynes notes, ‘The notion of a ‘sense of place’ has become increasingly important in recent times, and nowhere more acutely than in Tasmania’.1 Haynes, like many other writers, looks to landscape to interpret this ‘sense of place’. In this thesis I present a parallel narrative using a much under-analysed form of art practice, that is, natural history art and I will demonstrate that natural history art is of profound importance in imaging a ‘sense of place’ and the transition from British colony to independent state. As members of a colony shift their perception of themselves as being at the periphery of an empire, and begin to imagine themselves at the centre of their own unique society, they begin to create their own history as they become a settler society. It is in the content of their cultural institutions—the museums, art galleries and libraries—that we can see what is deemed to be of significance to that ‘sense of place’. Tasmania’s cultural institutions contain extensive collections of natural history art; collections that are even now being added to and that help document this connection to place. In this thesis I examine the works of six natural history artists and two landscape artists, to illustrate how a post-colonial interpretation changes the context of their art practice through time, and how that can be seen to be analogous to changes in ‘sense of belonging’ to place—from European discovery, colonisation, to independent society. The protagonists are the explorers Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Ferdinand Bauer, the convict artist William Buelow Gould, early settlers Mary Morton Allport and Louisa Anne Meredith, the Tasmanian-born William Archer, and the landscape artists John Glover and William Charles Piguenit. 1 Roslynn Haynes, Tasmanian Visions: Landscapes in Writing, Art and Photography (Sandy Bay, Tas: Polymath Press, 2006), p.xi. iv I also look at the role of natural history art in the collections of cultural institutions of two other lands, Canada and New Caledonia, to examine the role of natural history art in the collections of their cultural institutions. Conclusion As a colony moves from being at the periphery of an imperial power towards independence, it needs to construct its own separate history and identity. What is collected in the cultural institutions of that colony indicates what is deemed significant by the members of that settler society. The transference of allegiance can be linked to the transference of material artefacts and natural history art figures strongly in this. In Tasmania, natural history art has an important role in identifying place, which I believe fulfils a role not seen in New Caledonia or Canada. The artists and the art works I have selected demonstrate the change of perception of Tasmania from space to place, as settlers formed a sense of belonging to their new home. The cultural institutions of Tasmania continue to add to their nineteenth century natural history illustrations. The continued acquisition of these artefacts—in the form of original illustrations, as singular prints, and as monographs—is evidence of the hold that these images have in the imagination of Tasmanians. While, as Dr Haynes argues, the inhabitants of the society see the representation of the landscape as an important signifier of ‘the sense of place’ that is felt by members of that community, so natural history illustration also provides an extremely important, but under-researched, form of representation in Tasmania. Natural history illustrations are celebrated not only as representations of the State’s unique flora and fauna, but they also contribute significantly to that community’s powerful ‘sense of belonging’ to place. v Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my brother Allan Hansen. I have been fortunate in receiving tremendous support from many, many people and institutions whilst completing this work. I especially wish to thank my supervisor, Professor Jonathan Holmes, University of Tasmania, and co- supervisor Dr Andrew Rozefelds, ex Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, now Queensland Museum, for their unfailing support, enthusiasm and constructive criticism. I would also like to thank my Research Supervisor, Dr Stefan Petrow. I am grateful to the University of Tasmania without whose financial assistance this thesis would not have been possible, a significant part of my funding originated from their Graduate Research Scholarship. I was also awarded three GRSS Grants that contributed in part, toward travel expenses that enabled me to carry out research in New Caledonia, and to present papers at conferences in Palmerston North (New Zealand), Edinburgh (Scotland) and Savannah (Georgia, USA). I wish also to thank Dr Emily Gilbert, Cultural Studies, University of Toronto, who sponsored my Fellowship there. I have benefited a great deal from the collections in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the State Library of Tasmania, the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Toronto, and the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Le Havre. My thanks go to all these institutions and their friendly and helpful staff, especially Sue Backhouse at TMAG, Tony Marshall and Marian Jameson at the State Library and the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts. I would also like to thank Cédric Crémière and Gabrielle Baglione, of the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Le Havre, for their assistance and for allowing me to use previously unpublished images of Charles-Alexandre Lesueur’s Mirounga leonina. Thanks also to Miriam Prin and Montaigne Pentecost at the Bernheim Library, Nouméa, who gave me access to the library’s full catalogue. Of course an vi enormous thankyou is owed to the amazing people at the School of Art Carrington Smith Library; Juliet Beale, Beth Chalmers and Phylis Scott, and Andrew Parsons at the Morris Miller Library (The Royal Society of Tasmania), University of Tasmania. Many people have discussed aspects of my work with me and offered helpful advice, as well as information on and access to sources. In this respect, it is difficult to make an exhaustive list, but I would like to acknowledge my gratitude all those who were willing to spare some of their valuable time. A special thanks goes to Dr Brita Hansen and Dr Margaret Davies who gave invaluable advice and help in proofing this thesis. vii Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ IV Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... VI CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 Natural history art in the collections today ....................................................................... 4 Natural history not National history museums .................................................................. 8 Natural history illustration ............................................................................................... 10 Museums, libraries and art galleries ................................................................................ 17 Exploration ....................................................................................................................... 21 Belonging and identity ..................................................................................................... 25 The New Caledonia and Canadian case studies .............................................................. 32 Ethnographic illustration ................................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER TWO — EUROPEANS DISCOVER TASMANIA AND ITS NATURAL HISTORY .................................................................................................................... 38 Before going to the periphery .........................................................................................